Reliance Current Affairs

Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became first Indian company to cross Rs 8 lakh crore ($114 billion) market capitalisation. This record m-cap of RIL also bumped up Mukesh Ambani’s (India’s richest man) wealth to over $48 billion (according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index). M-cap is value of company that is traded on stock market, calculated by multiplying total number of shares by present share price.

Key Facts

RIL achieved Rs 8 lakh crore m-cap feat, after its shares rose by 1.86% to close at a record high of Rs 1,269.70 on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in intra-day trade, elevating its market cap to Rs 8.05 lakh crore. So far this year, RIL shares surged over 38 per cent.

RIL added the latest Rs 1 trillion in market cap in just 23 trading sessions. It had first crossed Rs 7-trillion market cap in July 2018 (for second time after it had achieved $100 billion m-cap and for first time in 2007). It took 181 trading days to move from Rs 6 trillion to Rs 7 trillion m-cap. Currently, RIL’s market value accounts for 5% of India’s total market cap.

The market valuation of RIL is considerably higher than IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS’) Rs 7,77,870 crore m-cap. TCS was first Indian IT company to reach Rs. 7 lakh crore ($100 billion club) market capitalisation (m-cap) milestone in May 2018 and second company after to achieve milestone after RIL.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL)

It is an Indian conglomerate company founded in 1977 by Dhirubhai Ambani. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. At present, Mukesh Ambani is its Chairman and MD of RIL and owns about 47% stake in it.

RIL is engaged in energy, petrochemicals, textiles, natural resources, retail, and telecommunications. It is second largest company in India as measured by revenue after government-controlled Indian Oil Corporation. It is ranked 203rd on the Fortune Global 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations as of 2017. It is ranked 8th among the Top 250 Global Energy Companies by Platts as of 2016.

Reliance Defence and Engineering Limited (RDEL) launched the first two Naval Offshore Patrol Vessels (NOPVs) — Shachi and Shruti at their shipyard in Pipavav, Gujarat.

These two NOPVs are the first warships to be launched by a private sector shipyard in India. These ships are part of a five-ships being constructed for the Indian Navy under the P-21 project.

About NOPVs

The NOPVs are primarily patrol ships to undertake surveillance of the country’s vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). They also undertake operational tasks such as anti-piracy patrols, maritime security of offshore assets, fleet support operations, coastal security operations, and protection of shipping lanes.

The five NOPVs constructed by RDEL are armed with a 76 mm Super Rapid Gun Mount (SRGM) system along with two 30 mm AK-630 guns, which provide medium range and short range offensive and defensive capabilities.

The armaments of these vessels are remotely controlled through an electronic fire control system. They are also fitted with 20,000 KW diesel engine-driven propulsion systems and can deliver speeds up to 25 knots.

Background

RDEL, subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure is the first private shipyard in India to obtain defence production licence and sign a contract for defence ships in 2011. It is also engaged in construction of one training ship and 14 Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs) for the Indian Coast Guard.

Previously, RDEL also had built ships for varied clients including offshore support vessels for ONGC, ice bulk carriers for a Norwegian company and offshore deck cargo barges for NPCC-UAE. It also has repaired and retrofitted commercial and defence ships as well as mobile oil drilling platforms for international clients.